JENNY DIAL, Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle |
June 3, 2011

The Woodlands pitcher Paige McDuffee struck out 10 batters and allowed just four hits en route to the win on Friday night.

AUSTIN — State softball enthusiasts have been waiting all season for The Woodlands pitcher Paige McDuffee to throw at the state tournament.

The UCLA-bound junior didn’t disappoint Friday night in front of a crowd of 1,127 at the University of Texas’ McCombs Field as she and the Highlanders blanked defending champion Pearland and advanced to the Class 5A title game with a 6-0 victory.

McDuffee struck out 11 batters and allowed just four hits in the 5A semifinal matchup of Houston-area powers. The Woodlands, ranked No. 1 nationally by ESPN

Rise, will face Northside O’Connor at 8 p.m. today at McCombs.

“I was a little nervous at first and just jacked up a little,” McDuffee said. “This is state, it is a college field; Pearland has been here twice and we haven’t, so there were early nerves.”

The lefthander quickly settled them and impressed fans as she worked several pitches to keep Pearland (35-14) — a team known for its hitting — at bay.

The Highlanders (43-1) supported McDuffee with some early offense. The Woodlands went up 2-0 in the second inning. McDuffee singled and her courtesy runner Amy Cimera scored on a Jessica Snyder double. Snyder then scored on a Taylor O’Dell double.

“When you start hitting the ball, it catches on, and we have been seeing the ball well and hitting it well,” The Woodlands coach Richard Jorgensen said.

In the next inning, the Highlanders collected two more runs thanks to Brooke Riemann’s two-run double that knocked in Kelsey Jolly and Alyssa Jorgensen.

The Highlanders got ther final two runs in the fifth on Snyder’s two-run triple. Snyder was 2-for-3 and also scored a run.

“She has been like that in the last few games,” Jorgensen said. “She is hitting well at the perfect time.”

This is The Woodlands’ first trip to the state tournament. This is O’Connor’s fourth appearance, but it has yet to win a title.

“I watched them tonight, and they looked good,” Jorgensen said. “They have good pitching, played defense. I was impressed.”

Meanwhile, Pearland’s third straight trip to state ended two wins shy of last year’s gold-medal season.